It was all about spectacular designs at last night’s EFFEN Vodka cocktail party held in honor of designer Richard Chai. The cocktail party follows EFFEN and Chai’s first partnered event held this past March for which the designer developed a stand alone lounge installation for the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS 15th annual DINING BY DESIGN tour.
Now in the second phase of their partnership and in a continuation of their support for DIFFA’s fundraising efforts, Chai made a grand gesture by debuting a custom gown worn by none other than Hilary Rhoda, for whom he shares a nearly ten-year-long friendship. For the gown’s design, the designer drew inspiration from the sleek, modern design aesthetic of EFFEN Vodka, and announced that the custom creation will be auctioned off in support of DIFFA at a later date.
Throughout the night, Hilary showed off Chai’s original design by tweeting pictures of the hand-pleated chiffon gown and Flutter jewels along with a personal shout-out to the designer:
“So much fun hanging w/@RichardChaiNY tonight & getting to wear his gorgeous 1-of-a-kind dress that will be auctioned off benefiting DIFFA!”
Since being founded in 1984, DIFFA has worked to direct care to those living with HIV/AIDS, while providing preventative education for those at risk. The organization is dedicated to ‘merging care and commerce,’ with supporters coming from the fine design and visual arts fields including: ‘architecture, fashion design, interior design, photography, and consumer product design.’ By participating in strategic partnerships and unique events like the DINNING BY DESIGN tour, DIFFA had been able to grant over $40 million to hundreds of AIDS service organizations worldwide.
